Apart from the fact that a draw resulted in a Test series win against the visiting New Zealand side,the Ahmedabad match in 1999 was remembered fondly for witnessing Sachin Tendulkars first ever double century in Test cricket. But after Jaywant Leles autobiography I Was There Memoirs of a Cricket Administrator revealed that captain Tendulkar tamely agreed to not enforce follow-on on coach Kapil Devs orders,the landmark Test is bound to lose some of its sheen. Tendulkar went to the opposition captain Fleming,and told him that they had to bat again. Kapil Dev,who was some distance away,shouted to Sachin,Captain no follow-on! Our bowlers are tired. We will bat. It was ridiculous! No opening bowler had ever said they were tired, Lele,the former BCCI secretary,recalled in his tell-all autobiography. But a day after accusing Dev of ordering Tendulkar around and costing India a win with his decision to not enforce follow-on (India led by 275 runs in the first innings),Lele has been criticised by some of the players from that Test for reliving the ghosts of the past. Devang Gandhi,who opened the innings for India in that Test,says that Lele should not be taken seriously. I dont think we should give too much credence to Leles comments. The wicket was a sleeping beauty and it was almost impossible to get a side out twice on that pitch, says the former Bengal and India opener. Also,why did the grave when India is doing so well? Going by the book When contacted on Wednesday,Lele justified writing about the incident,saying that no one quite understood why the coach had taken such a bizarre decision. I stick by what I have written. It was a decision taken by Kapil alone,and implemented on the whole team. The bowlers never said they were tired. In fact,after New Zealand were all out in their first innings,Chandu Borde and I were talking about the possibility of taking a couple of quick wickets that evening itself,since 45 minutes of play was still left, said Lele,speaking to The Indian Express. We were all stunned to hear the decision. What could Sachin do? Being a simple person,he didnt argue with the man who led us to a World Cup victory. I wanted to ask Kapil about his decision but decided against it as the damage had already been done, Lele added. Only he knows why on earth he took some a bizarre decision. While Lele and Gandhi remember the minute details of the happenings in the Test,others,such as fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad claim that it was too long back to register in his memory. Prasad and Javagal Srinath were the fast bowlers in the Indian side,and if Lele is to be believed,then Tendulkar had asked them to prepare to bowl again,before Dev chipped in. I dont remember what happened. It happened a long,long time ago. I have a short memory, says Prasad,before adding,I cant even remember who were the 11 players in my debut Test at Lords.
